Saturday, August 30, 2008

Blog 8/30/08

My outer world is shrinking as my strength goes down. But as I look into my window sills laden with flowers and beyond into nature’s sculpture of the barks of timeless oaks, I am again in an inner world that expands and satisfies. Nature from which we come and to which we return, holds out her arms. I am content with this beginning and resolution.

107 comments:

Mary, you won't remember me but my wife and I have been Laurie's students for a long time and took some classes from you when you visited in Ann Arbor. I'm a cancer survivor. We've been following your blog and thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. You're very much in our thoughts and prayers.

dear Mary,your words sounds so warm ,confortable and full of love,here in venice is late in the night,l'm going to bed and jioing to you in this image of peace,stop with you for a long wile before to sleep.much love claudia

dear Mary,thank you for teaching me about the precious "pause"... teaching me to respect every stage of everything. among all the gifts you've given, thank you for this too.. it is with me always. Your "hoorays" ....thank you for them - they are in my heart always making me smile big. all love to you, from my cats and me, Naghmeh

Dear Mary,I held you in my mind as I practiced this morning, especially remembering your direction for cross-bolsters (not to rush, to savor the release of each segment). Thinking of you as usual, and wishing you cool sheets, warm hands of loved ones, and anything else that brings you comfort. Thank you for your beautiful example in everything you have done.Love,Mary Beth

Dear Mary,Yesterday, many of us from the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco gathered together in Golden Gate Park to honor you. We shared stories of how we had met you, what an influence you have been in our lives, and acclaiming all the wonderful qualities that make you so special.

We chanted the MAHAMARTYUNJAYA and the PURNAMADAH in honor of you. You are a true yogi and we all with all our love and devotion prayed and chanted to the Lord Siva that you may be released from the bondage of death as a ripened fruit is released from the vine and be granted immortality.

You have influenced my teaching more than anyone. Thank you so much for touching my life in so many walks of life. Thank you for continually reminding me to pull my groins back in Tadasana and not cross my arms when observing a demonstration. I can still see your glowing smile and hear your voice filled with enthusiasm and joy as you inspired all of us. You were my mentor, my friend, my inspiration of how to be a yogi, a teacher and a human being. I will always feel your spirit with me as I continue to practice and teach Iyengar yoga.

Dear Mary You were my first "formal" teacher,and I still have you rooted in the heart of my practice. During practice your voice (in my heart's ear) always offers me to come into being through the practice. Your initial presence as a teacher in my life will continue to open my ears, my senses and my heart.

Dear Mary.You are in my thoughts and prayers daily and in every adho mukha svanasana I practice. I aspire to hold the pose as peacefully and effortlessly as you did in your marathon hold in Estes Park with Guruji! I am so blessed, and so grateful that as I began this Iyengar yoga path over 10 years ago, you were one of my first teachers. It amazes me to hear again and again from others how you touched them in so many ways. I am in awe of the many lives you've touched in your life already. A couple of years ago I began studying with Mary O and Eddy M and Mary talks of you so much. You shine through her to me now! You will always be an inspiration to me, and will always light my life and this world! Sending you a great big fat cyber hug wrapped in love and light.~Lisa G. in Kansas~

Dear Mary - I am full of words I don't know how to express. I have been so close to giving up my yoga practice several times. It was always your teaching, your words, your touch and your presence that gave me the courage - a light to follow.

I wish I could express what I want to express, but only thing I can say is thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for sharing your life with us and continuing to guide us every day.

Relocated in SF 2 years ago, I looked forward to seeing you here more. I realize now that you have been here all this time. Here and everywhere.

Dear Mary,You've been much much in my thoughts these many, and hearing Brooke's words of you this evening, I was almost not distracted, rather gave focus to being planted on my sits hearing the quiet then.

My mail program'd alerted me to your new blog entry before I was to leave for the Institute. I gave myself a breath, read, then cried to the skies some.

The cry was not for you but for me. It's a gift to know that, also that I'm worth all of it, and my rich imagination pours out to me word of your smile on learning of the sentiment.

More than anything now, I wish you gentle, rich, sweet breaths and the comfort, love, mystery of your family and loved ones. Your spirit is in so many places now, in the cherished memories of all your students, your family, in the echos of your urgings.

My tears are another rich part of my living, and continuing to try to know ever more, to embrace the spirit I've seen in you so many times that it's been a gift to share in.

Our Beloved Mary, You have given yourself so fully to all of us, making each feel so special. I see this in the comments from around the world and I live it myself. My heart is bursting with memories of our work and time together. Almost 30 years ago now I was blessed with the life-changing experience of working with you and learning from you. I saw then your love and deep concern for others always coming first. And here you are now giving us courage and love from that same loving place that is essentially you. Thank you dear friend, dear teacher, for loving me so well and letting me love you. I send my love for you to float on at this part of your remarkable journey. I am grateful, so grateful for the amazing gift of you. You are with me, part of me, always. Jenny

In 8 years, I’ve only taken class with you a few times, but I hold close the learnings and call on them often. Your insights on virabhadransa and courage have carried me through many a practice and life. I’m humbled to have had the honor to learn from you and grateful for the special place you’ve created with impeccably trained teachers. You’re in my thoughts and meditations and held in light and love.

dearest Mary,Seated in the Heart there is no distance that separates, no time that confines, no body that limits and there we smile complete and true.I cherish all that you have given and all that I have received with growing love and appreciation.with great respect and love,nikki

Aloha Mary, I am here in Hawaii and thinking of you. I cherish the many special times we have experienced together. With all my heart and soul I love you my friend. You are in my prayers daily.Namaste. Ae Ja

you have been present in my thoughts and my heart so much this week. every part of your shining spirit is alive and imprinted in me--your smile, your laugh, your bright and sparkling eyes. it is the remarkable way you always take the hard clay of language and pound/shape it to penetrate skin to soul that captured me from the moment i met you at feathered pipe ranch almost 20 years ago. well, your humor got me quick too!

you truly initiated me into Iyengar Yoga. i will always be grateful for your passion, clarity and wisdom that guided and transformed my practice. i will always remember our trip to bali--my first trip to asia--and you telling our guides on the bus "everyone is tired. this itinerary is too much. even lisa jo is tired and if she is tired then we're doing too much."

it is late and i have so much to say and i'm just going to say that i really love you mary. i embrace you.

Hi Mary,I want to say thank you to you for being such a great teacher. And I don't just mean the yoga. Thank you for keeping this communication thread open for us all, so that we can all take as long as we need to feel and say whatever we need to.

We've been having these wonderful 'emotional stability' practices at the institute, and tonight when Leslie Fryburg led us so beautifully in chants the emotion just welled up, overflowed in tears on my face, and I could hear the sniffing of crying all around me. Emotional Stability, it seems, is not rajasic or rigid at all. It is the ability to open yourself up and feel what you are feeling, all the pain, and sadness, and pity and loss of it; to give honor to those feelings as much as to the happy ones we are used to welcoming, knowing that they are just two sides of the coin.

Mary, in not abandoning us, in sharing your journey with us, you've continued as our teacher, and I've no doubt you will always be.Namaste,Abbey

But thinking over your life, what I know of it, it seems a life very well lived -- that it has brought much benefit to others. I once saw this amazing yellow plum tree when I was living in Argentina -- a huge tree with every branch loaded with fruit. I had never seen such a fruitful tree. I prayed fervently that my life bear as much fruit. I think your life has.

I have set up a shrine for you in my room. It has the enlightened masters who are praying for you on it, an orange rose with a trace of pink --from Greenwich actually, a brilliant red petal (in a water bowl) from a "bonfire" begonia, Manjushri, and the book "Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali" by Mr. Iyengar. According to Tibetan Buddhism, it is good to set up shrines for those returning to nature.

Mary, I do feel like you are going to keep telling me to pull my shoulders back no matter where you go! No doubt you'll be like my mother, who, the day after her death, came back as a voice that said, "And don't forget to call Social Security"...

I will be doing practices for you and mentally holding your hand during this time.

Dearest Mary,I have been envisioning a scene, which is you, for several weeks now. It happens frequently as I practice yoga. There is a lake with clear blue skies and the last of the haze is burning off the surface of the lake. It is so beautiful and peaceful and complete. There is union between water and sky and that is where I see you, in the beautiful and misty haze where the water and the sky meet.

Dear, One of a Kind Mary,Thank you for helping us to always see "Artha" in our life,for directing us onto a worthwhile path, for shedding light on the Tuesday New York Science Times, and for perspective. As I lay out my mat for practice, I remember an email you sent to Carrie, Hugh, and me when we were in Pune together back in 2000: You said to us, "Now get to it and do it!!" And so I do. I join the others in wishing you cool sheets and a continuing clear view of nature as well as the warm closeness of your loved ones.Our love surrounds you always.Leslie (Freyberg)

Dear Mary, You have our constant thoughts and prayers for peace and tranquility as your journey continues. We love and admire your strength and are grateful to have you as our teacher......always.Love,Lori Kaleel and Diane Beverley from Miami

Thank you for everything you've shown me. Thank you for being who you are and I thank God for being touched by your heart, for your passion for life and for your introduction to the space that exists between thoughts. Peace to you, Erin Dollar Kott (from Alaska)

dearest mary,dignity,grace,mentor,smiles ofencouragement, so many visionsof you I cherish in my heart.Thank you for connecting, foryour encouragement, always beingthere as a teacher, a force,caring. I feel so blessed to beyour student, Thank you!Sending endless hugs and love,Michele Weis

Dearest Mary- I hold you in my thoughts and prayers. You have spent your whole life in preparation for these moments.We cherish the many teachings you have given us over the years.You have taught us how to live by your very vibrancy,how to teach from your clear,methodical yet lyrical style. I hope we will be as brave and courageous in our lives as you are.With great love, Sandra-Saundra

Mary - In my mind and my heart I hold dear the image of you in your beautiful room, amongst the beautiful trees and surrounded by beautiful flowers, in the constant presence of the love of your beautiful family. I imagine and fervently hope that you are at peace, that you have merged all layers of yourself into one with nature, and that you have attained samadhi -that state where Mr. Iyengar says, "the soul alone manifests and blazes without form, in pristine clarity." Your soul will blaze on forever, and join with the souls of all of us blessed to have been touched by your wisdom and love. My love for you is never-ending...--Judi Friedman

Dear Mary,Yesterday in class Kevin quoted you, using your "house of elation" to describe the quality and nature of the space we cultivate in our practice. When he said it, I smiled, you were there with us, and room was loud with joy.You have given us such gifts Mary. I hold you in my heart of hearts.Eve

Mary, in an interview in The Institute newsletter recently you said something so profound I will carry it with me always- that you had learned to walk towards life without holding onto it. Thank you for that insight. I'm sure those words, like all your teachings, will serve me throughout my life.Blessings,Jeff

Dear Mary,Thank you for always being in the present whether a passing hello, a chance sharing of a subway ride, and especially in your Institute "Gentle" class. When I first met you and saw the beauty and harmony in your face and eyes, I knew that I would be cared for.And especially thank you for helping us to not be afraid of death.At almost 72 yrs.old that time is getting closer.While I have always enjoyed yoga I learned to really have fun being in your class. Whenever I sense my shoulders dropping, I think of you. With love always, Bill Egbert

Mary, I am so glad that George P. shared your blog with me. I remember my first workshop with you and learning to stretch up the front of my thighs and over rather than hinging in a forward bend. I just had my first workshop with Laurie Blakenly and it was like studying with you. She reminded me so much of you. I remember how you fixed my gyrating headstand in a Dallas workshop along with my backbends finally feeling free of any back effort. You have had a profound effect on my study and understanding of Iyengar Yoga. Feathered Pipe Ranch with George was another growth effort for me with you guys, also. You are so loved by all that have been in your company.Namaste,Diana Lyons and gang of greyts! (I have four retired racing greyhounds that embrace downward facing dog and upward facing dog everyday to remind me of how important yoga practice is!)

Dearest Mary,As I read your words I realize that you have reached that pure inner world where all that we have done in life fades and the essence of who we are is revealed. Thank you for sharing your journey with all of us. How hard it is for me to let go, but how greatfull I am for our long friendship and your incomparable teaching. With love always, Sandi

Even as I've prayed for a miracle for you, I've been aware that the real miracle IS you.

The miracle is the way you have touched so many lives so deeply, and fearlessly shared this journey with all of us.

The miracle is the way you have continued to teach us yoga this entire time. By that I mean the essence of yoga: gratitude for life in this moment no matter how difficult it might be, connecting with all who surround you in love, everyone and everything.

Connecting with all the people who love you and whom you love the most.

Even being generous enough to connect with those of us more in the outer circle, teaching us and sharing your journey.

It's too easy for the rest of us to forget that essence, that appreciation for the bark on the trees.

My mother, at the end of her life, used to have a saying when we accomplished anything. She was blind and crippled and used to say: "that's a job well done".

Mary, This is the week of Ganesha Festival in India. Pune is all decorated with flowers and images of Lord Ganesha. Ganesha removes obstacles, represents strength, calmness and intelligence. May all that and Lord Ganesha be with you....

Mary,I've struggled with words after reading and re-reading your very eloquent ones. I must say that Leslie Bradley has words equal to my feelings. Your life, your teachings, and this blog....all "a job well you." You truly are our miracle.Thank you with much love, Randee Devlin

Mary: I imagine that the little girl within you smiles when she reads what others feel and the effect you have had on soooo many souls. I love you and think of you every day...when I walk my dogs down to Battery Park she is walking with us. Smile. Love Gloria Check you're email for another greeting card and a picture of mochaccino and latte (my puppies). Love again, and again and once more love. Gloria

Dearest Mary,As you return into the consoling, timeless and expanding arms of nature, we are comforted by your gracious sense of peace and resolution. Thank you always for your continued presence in our lives. With love and gratitidude for you, Garth

How I miss you in Thursday morning doses!!!! In March I was no longer able to attend your class because I started a new job. All this time I was yearning to figure out a way to get back to your wisdom and jokes about dogs! And now I have found from this blog that you had stepped away from the Thursday morning time and space as well.

How you have enriched my practice these past years!! How blessed I feel to be engaged with these teachings, with people like you who have interpreted them for me and lead the way, no matter what. You share your practice so generously with us. So I will continue to learn from you, no matter what. Not only is some of your wit and wisdom embedded somewhat imperfectly in my head, but you can’t go to a class at the Institute (and in other schools as well) without some teacher referring, explicitly or not, to something you have said, or named, or done, or forbade or encouraged.

I am sorry if you are suffering and wish you freedom. This morning I was thinking in my own selfish way about my own comforts and a wonderful story told by Vasant Lad (which you have probably already heard) came to mind, which was told to him by his grandmother.

The Buddha was lying on a pallet waiting to leave his body and be absorbed in enlightenment. All his disciples were lined up outside his chamber meditating on the coming of this auspicious moment. Except for one. A lazy and distracted disciple who was late to practice was making noise at the end of the meditation hall. Finally she shuffled in late, muttering about having to ask her teacher a question. The head disciple leapt up from his mat and took her sternly aside. The disciple said that she needed to ask the Buddha a question. The head disciple admonished the lazy one. “How dare you interrupt practice? Why didn’t you ask before? There were many times your teacher answered questions---- How can you be so thoughtless and cruel? There were many many many times to practice under the teacher’s guidance. Why did you not pay attention? Why did you miss those practices?” The distracted one replied: “ I had to earn money for food. I had to build a house. I had to help my neighbors I had to have children and take care of them. I had to marry my daughters and sons. I had a pain in my foot. I had to bless my grand children. So many distractions this life put before me. I forgot to ask my teacher this question.”

The disturbance of this argument attracted the attention of the Buddha who beckoned to the head disciple. “Do not turn my disciple away. Did you think your own practice was perfect? And no questions remain? Do you think I practiced for so many years not to feel compassion for the lazy and distracted? Send her to me and let her ask her question.”

So the lazy and distracted disciple came before the Buddha and asked: “Buddha, if you are not in your body, and I am not in your presence, Where will you go? Where can I find you?” And the Buddha said: “Do not worry. Do not feel concern. For each time you sit quietly, and know your own breath---each time you follow your inhalation and exhalation---at the end of every exhalation, at the still point following, at the bridge between inhalation and exhalation, at the still-point--- you shall find me. Whether or not you practiced with diligence, I will always be there.”

I know you are spending time with your teachers in the pranayama of that still-point. I am the distracted student who will try to do the same. Blessings and energy for your practice.

Aloha dearest Mary!Duane and I send you our love; hoping that this part of your life's path will be easy and comfortable. You will always be remembered -- our trip to Bali, the San Diego Convention, the many workshops in LA, and a workshop here in Kona. We are blessed to know you.Marjorie

I think of you when I do the dishes. You are with me when I practice and I remember your directive to lift my chest. I think of you when I admire the beautiful Sycamore trees in my neighborhood. Your words, joy, insights, and directions are now part of me. I am so grateful. Thank you.With love,Nancy

Mary, there is not one day in which I don't think of you. I am so glad you are with your family and friends. One thing you have taught us, which carried me through 8 years of dire illness and now, quite probably, into health again, is that whatever the situation, there is always healing. Healing is not just possible, it is probable. You are the one person I know who is capable of finding your joy and heart in whatever situation.

I am so sorry that you are going through such pain. It sounds hard and more than hard. I hope that you continue to make your way into the tide of light beneath the cancer.

May all dualities cease and may each cell of your body come into whatever balance and coherence of the work and surrender it is so beautifully designed to do. Whatever your struggle, may you find and rejoin the transcendent light which has held you within itself, joyous and whole, all this time, and for all time.

Candor, beauty, erudition.As always, we are all so much our best selves around you, Mary.Thank you for guiding us in this one last asana....the hardest one, but the one that restores us. You are in my prayers...my breath.Namaste.Jane Byerley

The touch of kindness in every gesture.. you have impregnated our yoga world with Karuna, compassion, and dedication. Having supported the San Diego Iyengar yoga community to grow and thrive, you then embraced the fledgling Los Angeles center students and teachers. Leaving behind the foundation for a kind community, you moved on to New York.

Everywhere you have been you graced the Iyengar communities with the skills to communicate and work collectively.

Most of all, your ability to appreciate something in every situation, a true sign of having applied "pratipaksha bhavanam" in its most virtuous sense.

Dearest Mary, Every class I teach is a tribute to you as we take our arms overhead, touching our palms gently together and descending to the anjali mudra "feeling the grandness of the pose" as I have been told you have said. My personal practice and every class I teach ends with the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Let me whisper in your ear:

Lead me from the unreal to the RealLead me from the darkness to the LightLead me from death to ImmortalityLight me through and throughAnd guide me evermore with thy loving presenceAUM, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti

Dear Mary,You may not even read all these notes any more. You have been generous and courageous in sharing this journey with all.I was sorry you could not join us here in western Canada when Geetaji was here.The DVD has just been released of her teaching which was so inspring. Chris S. will have told you of the rich teachings at the Ashram. I send you the Light and love, even though we seldom met. You always made me feel so welcome and I always learned so much!Blessings,Leslie Hogya

Your ever-present smile and (ever-lurking) twinkle of the eye, your calm and gracious demeanor, and your non-judgmental acceptance of and caring for every student have taught me as much about the embodiment of a life devoted to and blessed by yoga as anything I could imagine. You have been the light and the rain and the warmth that has nurtured a vast field of seedlings touched by a monumental subject and the teachings of a monumental man. In this way, you will continue to be with us always.

I am sending you LOVE and thanks for your continued amazing journey in sharing your generosity with all of us. I will always hold your spirit of joy in my heart..Peace and blessings to you and your family.Safe passage, Gail

Mary,Thank you for sharing your wisdom, patience, strength and love. The world shines brighter from your presence. With all that know and love you I send you love and light as you make this transition. Thank you for sharing as you alway have the beauty of the journey.Namaste,Tree

Dearest Mary,Thank you for your extraordinary teaching and example, on and off the mat. Your time here, lived with lightness and in awe of each moment. That precious, precious pause you taught us to savor. May you be safe and free from harm. May you have comfort or heart and ease of mind.love, Tina

Dearest Mary,My words cannot express the love and beauty of your body speech and mind. I want to share this with you:

The essence of all beings is earth,the essence of earth is water,the essence of water is plants,the essence of plants is man,the essence of man is speech,the essence of speech is the Rgveda,the essence of Rgveda is the Samaveda,the essence of the Samaveda is Udgita, (which is OM)That Udgita is the best of all essences, the highest,Deserving the highest place, the eighth'(CHANDOGYA UPANISAD)

last week George Purvis, Serena and I got together in Dallas and talked about the olden times doing yoga in Dallas. Obviously, you were much on our minds and hearts and hamstrings. So much water has been uder the bridge since then, but in many ways it seems only yesterday.

Kevin taught a class today that was, like all the classes he’s been teaching recently, simple yet profound. He talked of a cessation of “doing”, and a beginning of “being done”, of moving from “will” and “action” and “diagnosis” to an understanding of something deeper, of “narrative”. I said to him after the class that it put me in mind of a conversation I’d had recently, in another context, of the importance of our being sensitive, and responsive to, the narrative of our lives – which, after all, is God’s bailiwick. I was sad when I left the Institute, and all I could do was stand on the corner of 7th Avenue and 22nd Street, wondering where to go and what to do next. As I stood there, quite catatonic, Carrie came across Seventh Avenue, and we talked for a bit, and, I have to say, I was a little teary. She went on her way, and then I started thinking of Blake’s lovely line: “We are put on Earth for a short space to learn to bear the beams of love”, and how the past 12 months have taught me a lot about the beams of love. But I also thought how, like my forward bends, I have so much further to go. Then I walked to the Japanese restaurant on the corner of Seventh and 21st and ordered a glass of saki. I raised my glass to you, Mary. “This one’s for you”, I said to myself. It was delicious. Somehow, I didn’t think you’d mind.

Dear Mary, Thoreau wrote in Walden, "Only that day dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun is but a morning star." We know this through yoga, too. I'm grateful for your teachings, your joy, your sharing. Love from Ann Arbor, Barbara Sloat

Please forgive me for taking your time by sending you this letter. For many years, I have wanted to tell you how much studying yoga with you has enriched my life. I hope that you remember me. My friend, Beata, had been singing your praises when I reluctantly agreed to accompany her to your yoga class in Greenwich, in hopes of freeing up my tight hip in May of 1995. Not only did the tightness in my hip release, but after several months of attending your classes, my shallow breathing settled into long, deep breaths! My new, relaxed state of being was due to my long, relaxed breathing! I studied with you for many years. I learned so much from you, your presence, your humor, your generous spirit, and your remarkable ability to communicate and demonstrate the Iyengar method. I draw from your teachings every day of my life. You are my first and most profound yoga teacher. I am grateful for your teachings as you continue to share life's ultimate teachings. My prayers are with you. You will always have a special place in my heart. Barbara Sroka

I have on my desk at work the prayer that my very first Iyengar teacher shared with our class many years ago. Translated by Sogyal Rinpoche, it reads:

By the power and truth of this practice may all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness may all be free from sorrow and the causes of sorry may all never be separated from the sacred happiness which is sorrowless and may all live in equanimity without too much attachment or too much aversion and live believing in the equality of all that lives.

I have always gained strength from saying these words. I am overfilled with gratitude that my journey in yoga has led directly to you. You are ever in my thoughts.

Dearest Mary,Equanimity - a word you used often in clases. The dictionary says it means composure: steadiness of mind, especially under stress. I find that it is also one of the Seven Limbs of Enlightenment and one of the Four Limitless States of Mind - upeksha. You taught us to seek equanimity in the asanas - within the circumstances of the asana to find steadiness of mind as well as steadiness of body and breath. And you taught us that practice would bring with it the ability to have equanimity in the face of all of life's circumstances. You are the embodiment of equanimity. As Leslie says, you are the miracle.

An excerpt from a favorite Mary Oliver poem...When I Am Among the Trees

When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust , equally the beec, the oaks and the pines,they give off such hints of gladness.I would almost say that they save me, and daily...

Around me the trees stir in their leavesand call out, Stay awhile."The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, "It's simple," they say, "and you too have comeinto the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled with light, and to shine."

It seems fitting that one who has spent her life exploring her own miraculous vehicle of a body, and teaching so many others how to love and rejoice in theirs, would also teach us all how to leave that vehicle with grace. You are, in your essence, what is infinite, and what you have taught all of us is woven forever into our own essences and those of everyone we know. The world is a more luminous place because of what you have given. We are all blessed.

Dearest Mary,I treasure you and all you've given. I wish you much peace and ease on your future journey. Sending many blessings and prayers for an easy transition into the true bliss.Love always,Barbara Boris

Mary,p.s. The highest compliment I have ever received on my teaching, was when my long time students told me I was starting to sound like YOU! (and I hadn't been to a class of yours in years!)Thank you for everything.I love you.Barbara

dearest mary, jo z. just told me of your blog. am holding you close and remembering your brilliance. thank you again for all you have given us. sending you much love, many blessings and great peace. namaste, lisa cole

since i met you, always there, showing yourself,teaching me to be myself,thousands of millions of conscious moments,treasures of inspiration,i thank you for your teachings,for your belief in this path.

You woke me for the sunrise each morning.You led me toward the sunset at the close of class each day.You taught me to stand tall, and to sit, and to breathe.And now you are teaching us all how to travel onward with grace.

Inspiring teacher, beloved friend, I am so, so grateful to you, now and forever.